Oberburg - Kobern-Gondorf, RLP-DE - Castles on Waymarking.com

The Oberburg (as opposed to the Liebieg Castle, also known as Niederburg), also known as von der Leyen Castle, Zur Leyen Castle, Leyen Castle and Gondorf Castle, is located in the Gondorf district of the Kobern-Gondorf municipality on the Moselle. It is the ancestral seat of the lords and later princes von der Leyen. In 2002, a bronze bust of Prince Philipp von der Leyen, created by Karol Badyna and donated by the Gondorf volunteer fire department, was unveiled in front of the outer bailey.

The castle is a protected cultural monument according to the Monument Protection Act (DSchG) and is registered in the list of monuments of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. [1] A branch of the Koblenz State Main Archive is housed in some buildings.

The sheltered location, as if on a promontory, was protected on one side by the Moselle and on the back by the Nothbach (diverted and built over in the 1970s), probably already offered in the 5th / 6th. Century the place for a fortified and well defensible settlement.

The extensive complex from the 14th century consists of the outer bailey with a gate added in 1527 and the core bailey. The main builder was the Trier Elector Johann VI around 1560. von der Leyen. The facility fell into disrepair in the following times, when the various branches of the family took up residence in Bliesgau, Bavaria and southwest Germany.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Count Philipp von der Leyen, who had meanwhile been made Prince of Hohengeroldseck in Baden since 1819, had the castle of his ancestors restored in parts. After the Prince's death, his son Erwein I sold the complex, the land and the previously important winery to the community of Gondorf, among others.

During the expansion of the railway (today's Moselle route) in 1876, the palace complex, which extends to the banks of the Moselle, was cut into two parts and the church, which stood southwest of the palace, was demolished. A replacement building was built elsewhere at the expense of the developer, the Prussian State Railway. Almost 100 years later, in 1971, the federal highway 416 was laid between the railway line and the Moselle. To do this, the ground floor parts of the castle had to be opened or rebuilt. The main road now runs right through the castle over the former castle courtyard.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   01/27/2019 kaschper69 visited it